How to Survive an Account Glitch

How

Many of us here have fallen prey to one or another system glitch in our Local Guide accounts. Personally I have experienced a multiple upload glitch (upload once, photo actually uploads 2 times), multiple photo appearance with ghosts (2-6 copies of each image, but only 1 is real), the “but wait there’s more” (upload a few photos to a place but it picks many more and adds them, and the “you’ve never been anywhere” glitch - where I am prompted to re-review places I have been, and clicking on the prompt to review erases my old review beyond recovery.

In the months of March through May, I was hit with a combo of these glitches, one after another. I spent the first month cleaning my account during late nights on the phone with @lakeoftea , my constant companion for quality control. The following months I focused on uploading streetview photos, since my account there was fully operable. I tried to review places, but became discouraged as I met various roadblocks, and redirected my efforts. This past month I dove into Connect.

The end result of all this pain is the list below, which I hope can help some of my fellow guides when they are feeling afraid or discouraged by one glitch or another.

How to Survive and Account Glitch:

  1. Glitches pass. Most issues pass between a couple of days and a couple of weeks. Find a part of your account that is functioning normally and use the glitch as an excuse to build your skills in new areas.
  2. If you are really, truly, very nervous or repercussions, take a few screenshots. If anything goes wrong, the Googlers have us covered, but documentation helps them understand what went wrong so they can fix the situation for yourself and others. Put the screenshots in your Google Drive and chill.
  3. Do not panic and start deleting or trying to edit glitches away. This almost always makes the situation worse.
  4. Your Streetview Account might be isolated from the issues This could be a chance to become a Certified Pro!
  5. Spend more time on Connect! This is the perfect opportunity to invest the time you usually spend on photos and reviews in the community! The time you spend here reaps rewards in relationships and knowledge! You’ll be glad you did it!
  6. Use your timeline to see where you have been recently so you know where to review. You will likely know the places you can add photos to or review, even if the system has you temporarily running blind. Your timeline can be your friend.
  7. Yes/no questions are incredibly important pieces of the Maps puzzle, and some can only be found with a bit of work! Click on listings around you to discover yes/no questions which have yet to be answered!
  8. Checking the facts and confirming edits are great ways to invest your time. (I have never seen these areas affected by a glitch yet - they are always safe bets if you need to get your contribution fix!)
  9. Remember that your “streak” and your “Top Local Guide” status are products of the points generated by your contributions. They are fun rewards, but they reflect number values. There are many ways to contribute to maps that will not make you a “Top Local Guide” in your area but will make a very significant impact. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the numbers. Your real value isn’t measured in points.

Has your account ever glitched? How did you handle it? What did you do to keep yourself active and contributing?

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Thank you @Kwiksatik .

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Thanks @Kwiksatik for this great advise!

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100 % with you @Kwiksatik . Thank you for posting.

As you said, “Glitches pass

A few weeks ago I spent ours for removing “apparently duplicate” photos, realizing, after a refresh of the screen, that I was removing my contributions.

So I decided to stop, and wait a day. Everything was fixed.

We have a lot of different ways for contributing. Checking the fact and Adding missing Information are two ways of contributing that I love and, If I have time, I use them for improving the information around me

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Hi @Kwiksatik and thanks for this post (at least I knew it was a common problem)!

Even my account was not unscathed by these glitchs, and like @ErmesT I have removed some photos I thought were double and then discovered the opposite! Now I have learned my lesson and when I notice these glitches on Maps, meanwhile I write my reviews on a Note app which I will then insert into Maps, or I keep updating new ideas to improve Connect and LocalGuide more and more !

Have a good day,

David

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@davidhyno I hadn’t considered writing reviews “in progress” in a secondary location! I tend to write something short and sweet, and revisit my reviews when I want to reminisce about a period of time (such as a trip) when it is over and add in extra details then. I like your idea more!

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Great post, @Kwiksatik ! As you know, this has happened to me before as well. Now I know better to let it ride and focus on adding content that differs from where the glitch resides.

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i love you

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Thank you for the how-to post and great advice @Kwiksatik . That really covers it all. Hope it helps everyone in need.

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@Kwiksatik thanks for this informative post, helps a lot. It has happened to me I got very confused, thinking I did something wrong, but quite honest, the feeling passed in like 5 minutes lol :slight_smile: I´ve posting a wide range of things is these last couple of months, either pictures, reviews, finding places, videos… Now, your tips will help me out to produce quality content for sure… so… thanks a lot !!!

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@JordanSB Thank you so much! Your epic contributions have been an inspiration to me and I have enjoyed seeing how you add to Maps on more than one occasion. :slight_smile:

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@ErmesT EXACTLY! Removing duplicate photos is so frustrating… I never know if they double uploaded or double displayed so I wait a while but it is against my nature to do so. When you said “I decided to stop, and wait…” you are so right, but such a test of personal willpower.

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@NileshNag thank you!

@marcorp Thank you so much for your kind words. I looked at your contributions and we have quite similar photo styles in stores! I love that you are doing work under the #accessibilit topic! That is straight up fantastic!

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@Kwiksatik Thank You so much for this insightful and informative post. I have glitches, some of which last for months and are still on-going. However, I also broaden my skillsets to guide others in my area. Thanks again! :grinning:

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@TMLKadventures turning obstacles into opportunities one at a time! Congratulations on broadening your skills!

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@Kwiksatik :grinning::+1::grinning:

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